“Here we go.” Austin left the keys in the ignition and climbed from the car, his own nervousness coming through the bonds.
He met me on my side and took my hand, walking me toward the entrance.
“I used to think this house was massive,” he said, his walk slow. “It’s six bedrooms, over seven thousand square feet.”
“That’s a lot to heat. What changed?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Ivy House.”
“Well…yeah, but Ivy House comes with dolls and now gnomes, so…”
His hand stalled in reaching for the door handle. Instead, he slowly swung it to the side and pushed the doorbell instead.
“Things will start feeling normal again,” I said softly, wrapping an arm around his. “You’ll see.”
“We should’ve brought a cooler and some clam dip.”
My bark of laughter was entirely unintentional and very ill-timed, because Kingsley opened the door to a face full of my spit.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” I reached forward to do damage control, immediately tugged back by Austin. “Right, no touching. But seriously, I’m so sorry. He made a joke, and I didn’t expect it, and…”
Kingsley stared at me as he wiped his hand across his cheek. “Yes, I can see how a joke of his might catch you by surprise.”
“Sorry.” I curled my lips under in an effort to rein myself in, but his reaction was just so comical
—and it felt so good to laugh after all the tension Austin and I had both been feeling—that I devolved into a fit of giggles. “Sorry!” Now I laughed harder because I couldn’t stop, holding my stomach and bending over. “Oh my God, what a freaking life we’ve landed in, huh?” I let a few more chuckles pop out. “Phew.” I wiped under my eye to dislodge a tear of glee. “So, anyway, what’s for dinner?”
“Hopefully whatever drugs you took.” Kingsley stepped back from the door. “Welcome. I think.”
“Nice car, jackass.” Austin lightly punched Kingsley as we passed him, entering the house. “I can’t believe you didn’t find one with an eight-track.”
“Like that? I figured as your mate keeps you flush with the sports cars, I would get you a Common Dick vehicle. The cassette deck was an added bonus.”
Austin curled his arm around me, bracing it on my hip and pulling me in close. Kingsley looked between the two of us for a moment, and I worried he’d mention what had happened earlier.
“Do you need a tour, or can we just skip to the food?” he asked, his face still deadpan and his tone droll, as though having dinner parties was like pulling teeth.
This time I tried to get a hand up to stop the spit flying at him, the laughter taking over again.
“Maybe…I should…step…outside,” I said through giggles, wiping the other eye now.
“Jesus.” Kingsley shook his head and walked into the house.
My laughter turned to wheezing as I tried to keep it in. Austin just waited patiently, a crooked smile on his face.
“Sorry,” I whispered, really trying to get myself under control. “Sorry.” I straightened up and cleared my throat. “Okay, I think I have it all out now. Hopefully they are in the other part of the house and couldn’t hear me.”
Of course, I wasn’t that lucky—we’d just walked into a cavernous area that held a family room, an open kitchen, and a glass dining table across from huge picture windows. The floors were all
beautifully polished wood, with echoing rooms and an abundance of open space, nothing to really catch sound.
“Oh no,” I whispered as Austin walked us toward the kitchen, crowded with people looking our way. I cleared my throat again, the fit of humor now a distant memory.
“Hello!” A woman about my height walked forward without a smile. She had deeply bronzed skin with high, rounded cheekbones and lush red lips. Straight black hair fell to her lower back, and a sleek red dress was cinched around her waist. Her deep brown eyes held a hint of wariness, and her posture tensed up a bit when she zeroed in on Austin, but she was no less stunning because of it.
“Welcome! It’s been so long.”
She stopped about three feet away, usually the distance a person would put out their arms for a hug.
“Earnessa, hello. Thank you for having us,” Austin said formally.
Neither of them moved toward each other, and I remembered Kingsley asking Austin’s permission to hug me once.
“Oh.” I pointed my finger between them. “You guys can hug if you want. Or high-five, or whatever you want to do. I don’t mind.” They didn’t move any closer. “Or just stare awkwardly, I don’t know.